Inseparable
by Destux
Summary: Here are my submissions for Hinanami Week 2019 (Part 1)!
1. Ready. Set. GO!

Day 2: Domestic

Chapter Summary: Even in special events, like a reunion party for the 77th Class for instance, the couple always finds time to have some intimate times with themselves.

* * *

A/N: I HAVE BEEN SUMMONED TO MAKE ANOTHER HINANAMI FIC! HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Well, would you look at that? I finally made a true 100% fluffy Hinanami fic!

Seriously though, I'm so glad for the many fluffy fics that were written for this ship week that I HAD to make one.

On a totally unrelated note, I'll be switching out of this wonderful Himiko sprite edit that I have for the old Deathwing avatar. I just thought it was funny to have it as my avatar for some time.

* * *

_Bed? Made. Check._

_Clothes? Folded. Check._

_Suit and tie? Neat and tidy. Check._

_Watch? Strapped and working. Check._

_Hair? Pointy. Check._

_Chiaki?_

Hajime went back to their room and sneaked a peek inside. She was still in her pajamas, munching on some chips, donning her gamer headset that didn't help to cover how messy and cheesy her hair was, and rapidly mashing away on the keys of her PC. She's focused on her game right now and interrupting her would be like pushing the button of a landmine with your finger - or in short, a really stupid and suicidal idea.

Still, he was left with no choice. She can't miss this reunion party with her former classmates, who were now very successful people because of their ultimate talents, and he's going to drag her towards that bathroom and bathe her if worse comes to worst.

He folded the sleeve of his suit and glanced at his watch. They only had ten minutes left before the party would start and he knows that the girls will blame him for not bringing Chiaki earlier. Sure, they may be mature now but they wouldn't miss an opportunity to tease her husband, just like old times.

Preparing himself for his wife's potential outburst, he opened the door and nudged her on the shoulder.

"Five more minutes…" she mindlessly mumbled, as if that was her automatic response to everything when she was…*busy*.

"No, we don't have five more minutes, Chiaki." he replied. "We're gonna be late if you don't get off that chair and start dressing up. You've been on that PC the whole day!"

Still focused on her multiplayer game, she ignored him for a moment before coming up with a new response. "…Three more minutes…"

"I'm giving you five seconds or I'm unplugging this thing." he warned her. "**Five**."

She continued to play, with even more vehemence than before. He can't believe she took his warning as a challenge.

"**Four**."

Hajime stepped away from the chair and began eyeing the power cord with his signature glare.

"**Three**."

Chiaki slammed her hands on the desk and brought her face closer to the screen and furrowed her eyebrows. He could hear the screams of her victims play faster than before as explosions and gunshots fired off like crazy from her headphones.

"**_Two_**."

Hajime was now teetering near the plug and his hands were just itching to pull it off the outlet.

"**_One_**."

He crouched dangerously near the outlet and gestured his hand near the plug.

"**_Ze_**-"

"Wait! Wait! I'm done! I'm done!"

Chiaki left her chair and turned off her PC the proper way. She looked back towards Hajime and scratched her head, applying more cheese and messiness on her hair.

"I'll be ready in a minute…" she said. "…I think…"

"You don't even have your clothes ready." he stated matter-of-factly.

She puffed her cheeks out and placed her hands on hips. "I know I know…" she growled in frustration. "Can you wait for me outside, Hajime? I promise I won't take long…"

He glanced once more at his watch. "I'll be waiting for you in the car."

Without another word, he left their room and began making his way towards the hallway that led to the garage. He started up the car and dabbed a modest amount of cologne around his neck. Hey, it's eco and nose-friendly so there's no need to feel guilty about destroying anything at all.

After around eight minutes or so (because he couldn't stop checking his watch, of freaking course), the soothing scent of mint and strawberries came in, dressed with a navy blue long-sleeved turtleneck with a scarf of the same color and a medium-sized black skirt, thigh-high black socks and the same old Plain Janes to top it all off.

"Are we late?" asked Chiaki, a hint of guilt crossing her face. "I'm sorry if we are, Hajime..."

"It's fine, Chiaki..." he pulled her closer and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, tasting the sweet strawberries on those buds, like the high from sipping fine wine that lasted a second. He smiled and continued to snuggle with his wife for another minute. "...What's the worst they can do anyway?"

She let out a breathy laugh from his intimacy. "...We've all come a long way, haven't we?"

He scoffed sarcastically at her question, clearly withholding his mixed feelings about the matter, and pressed the gas slowly.

And thus, they made their way towards the party, where everyone else had waited patiently for the last of the couples to arrive.

* * *

A/N: Yep, this is a warmup for me. I'll be writing more soon, but I can't write for all of the prompts, unfortunately...

I have a lot of stuff to do in school. I only have so little time to catch up...


	2. Stressed Out

Day 5: Relaxation

Chapter Summary: What if one day, he suddenly stopped coming and you didn't know why?

As a friend, what would you do?

* * *

A/N: That summary though HAHA! It's possible I'm guilt-tripping someone that may or may not exist with those questions.

I was so excited to post this that I couldn't wait for the message in Tumblr that Day 5 has now started. For this entry, since I have almost no sense of imagination (Wow, and I call myself a writer. Ironic, right?), I decided to insert a little backstory of my life in this. I'll keep the specifics to myself but it's up to you to assume which character I used to portray a glimpse into my life.

I know for certain, if my friend still continues to read my posts, that they know exactly who it is.

* * *

This was the first time she arrived two hours earlier than him, and she thought that she was already late to their gaming session. She was disappointed, to say the least, but hey…maybe he's just busy? He's always busy…

…Especially these past few days. His focus seemed all over the place and playing games with him did not seem…as much fun as it used to.

But still, he would always come. She doesn't hold it against him if he's late, she's just glad that he's there with her.

The sun was already setting and she was getting really sleepy…

Well, there's always tomorrow.

* * *

This was the third time he skipped their gaming sessions. Now, her focus was all over the place. She can't even play games right anymore. She found it hard to focus if he's always on her mind. It was strange how the only time Hajime started to mess up her focus was when he was not here.

Getting irritated by the constant game overs on her console, she shut off the system and placed it back in her bag. She swung her legs back and forth and crossed her arms on her lap while she waited. The only building she was focusing on was the one for the Reserve Course. That's where he went to class…right? Hmmm…

The sun was already setting and she already had a plan formed in her mind.

It's not that she doesn't trust Hajime… She's just worried. Really worried.

Well, there's always tomorrow…

* * *

This was the seventh time…

She was getting impatient and worried, more so than ever.

Why is he not coming?

She managed to catch a glimpse of Hajime entering the building and tried to call out for him but he seemed to not hear her. She wanted to chase him and ask him what's going on because the look on his face was…scary…

…He looked like her when she would look at herself in the mirror every morning after only an hour of a night's rest, but much much scarier than that.

That wasn't even the main problem. Ever since she started waiting by the entrance of the Reserve Course building when her classes ended, she did not see him exit the building at all. The only time she would see him is before classes and she knows that the dorms for the Reserve Course students aren't inside the building. Don't they have a curfew?

A horrible thought crossed her mind and it caused her distress to no end.

He's trying to avoid her.

He's purposely trying to avoid her.

No! She can't doubt her friend like that! He…would never do that…right? Right?

He's reasonable. She knows he's reasonable. Him trying to avoid her without telling her the reason why just felt so…un-Hajime-like…

She stood up and gave one last look at the giant building after the last person ran by her. She's already asked these people if they knew where he was but they were all really unhelpful and irritated by her for some reason.

The sun was already setting and she pulled up her hood dejectedly.

She just wants to play video games with Hajime…

It's not like she's taking much of his time…right? It's just a couple of hours they shared together; he never complained…

Well, there's always tomorrow…she thinks…

But it's about time she took matters in her own hands.

* * *

With some help from Mahiru, Peko and Ibuki, she was finally able to sneak in the Reserve Course dorms without anyone batting an eye. When she was being asked as to why she's doing this, she replies with the same answer every time it concerned her classmates.

"…It's for my friends…"

She donned a Reserve Course uniform, wore a white wig with wavy hair that was as long and silky as Sonia's own, and borrowed a spare pair of glasses from Peko. Chiaki, who made quite an image in the gaming forums, would've been noticed for her hair and…physique. For now, she's just a Reserve Course student who looked nothing like the Ultimate Gamer…or so she hopes.

She then dove for a nearby bush and spied for anyone entering the dorms that looked like him. This was like one of those sniper games where she had to aim her crosshair at a target to know what they were doing before pulling the trigger, so she mimicked a sniper - crouching with one leg kneeling on the ground and holding an imaginary rifle (which was a really long wooden stick she found) while aiming down at the sights with one eye closed. She completely immersed herself in the experience by calming her nerves and steadying her breath. She couldn't risk getting spotted like this; that would be an instant game over, plus she didn't have any checkpoints to load at!

The sun was already setting and she waited for hours and hours, still holding that sniper position and doing her darned best to not yawn and lose focus. Countless hours of nonstop gaming made this a cinch for her…

She could not give up now. Who knows when she'll get another opportunity like this again?! Or worse, what if this was her last chance and if she screwed this up, she'll lose Hajime forever?!

Using that as motivation, she was determined to do this, even if it meant that she had to break curfew or disobey Chisa. If she had to pick between following orders or making sure her friends were ok, she would always go for the latter no matter the cost. Well, that would be the most obvious choice, right?. She was grateful for having her friends be her second outlet for issues aside from gaming and she'd be damned if her *occasional* truancy made them think that she didn't care for them and their problems at all. She _does_ care for them and is willing to go through extremes to show it to them.

Her eyes spotted a figure that was slowly approaching one of the doors. Even when they were under shade, she could not mistake that spike on their head. It was him. She had to make sure she wasn't just imagining things so she shook her head and looked at the figure once more. It was him. It really was him…!

However, she held herself back and continued to observe him. If she rushed out now, he might become alert and attack her in self-defense instead since she was wearing a disguise. That would end pretty badly for the both of them. If word got out that Hajime assaulted a Main Course student, or in this case, the class representative of the 77th Class, he wouldn't be suspended, like how they suspended Fuyuhiko's sister *in lieu* of expelling her when she attempted to attack Mahiru (luckily for her, she had the Kuzuryus to back her up just in case she would get punished); he might even be expelled, and she doesn't want that to happen. She'd feel guilty for making his life harder than it already is for her selfishness.

He fished something out of his big satchel bag and began fiddling with it by the door. She could hear him faintly mutter curses to himself and the ringing of keys became louder until he finally unlocked his door and walked in. Once he closed his door, she finally made a move to advance towards his room. She looked both ways and found no one in sight. She let out a relieved sigh and slowed her pace. Upon arriving at his doorstep, she knocked thrice on the door. She took deep breaths and prepared herself to see his state up close.

He opens the door and…

"Eh?" He looked at her as if she grew a second head.

She couldn't find it in herself to smile at his pitiful state. He looked incredibly tired and she debated whether or not she should continue to bother him. "…Umm…"

They stared at each other in silence. Both wanted to say something but the words died in their mouth. They felt this strange sense of déjà vu. It was as if this same thing happened once, but neither knew when.

"Can I help you…?" He asked with awkwardness following his tone.

"…Can we talk inside?"

"And why do you want to come in?"

She puffed her cheeks in frustration and tried to force herself in. "…I don't have time for this, Hinata-kun."

"H-Hey, watch it…! Don't make me kick you-"

Once she was inside, she closed the door and removed her wig and glasses. She couldn't stand another second of waiting to reveal herself to Hajime just to talk normally. Speaking of which, he stepped back furtively and tripped on his couch. She mustered up an authoritative glare and finally got to the problem. "Why were you avoiding me, Hinata-kun?"

"U-Uhhh… I-I can explain…! I swear!"

"Let me hear it then. You made me wait for you by the fountain everyday and I wanna know what's going on with you."

"You…waited for me?" He asked incredulously. "Oh god… I'm so sorry, Nanami… I was just so busy with assignments recently and I had to take make-up classes for failing those exams. I didn't have any time to tell you since I had all these things on my mind…" He looked away and gritted his teeth in shame. "…Damn it…! If only I were smarter and talented…!"

Chiaki covered her mouth in shock. How could she have forgotten that Hajime didn't have the same kind of freedom that Ultimates had?! "…No, I should be the one who's sorry, Hinata-kun…" She sat down beside him and gave him a hug to calm him down. "I completely forgot that you still had exams and assignments unlike us. I guess I was making your life harder by asking you to play video games with me. I should have understood… I'm sorry for not being a good friend, Hinata-kun…"

Before he could respond to that, she held her hand up and snapped her fingers excitedly. "…I got it! I'll help you then!"

He fervently shook his head at that. "No! Those are my responsibilities and I need to get them-"

"Have you looked at yourself, Hinata-kun?! You look awful! You need to lie down and relax for a while! You can't do anything with a low stamina bar, remember?"

"But…but…"

"…This is for your own good, Hinata-kun." She looked at his guilty face sternly.

"Please, don't forget that I'm your friend." She softened her look to one that pleaded to him. "You can always ask me for help. You don't need to tackle this level solo. We can always play coop. It's much more fun that way, right?"

His tired eyes glared ferociously at the ground. She noticed that his knuckles were turning white from clenching his hands so tightly.

"…Hey…what's wrong-"

"What about me then, huh?!" He instantly shifted his red-hot glare towards her. "Are you telling me that I should just…do nothing about it and let someone better do my job?!"

"That's not what I said, Hinata-kun."

"Then what are you trying to say?!"

"I'm just saying that it's ok to ask for help if you can't handle it. There's a reason why most boss raids have an option to invite other players, you know. That way, all players can share the rewards from defeating a hard boss."

He groaned in frustration and hid most of his face under his two hands. She patted his back and brought out the papers from his satchel.

"…Just relax, Hinata-kun. Leave it to me for now. Look, I'll even switch places with you in classes so you can sleep the whole day tomorrow-"

"There's no classes tomorrow, Nanami." he reminded her flatly.

"See? That's even better! You can rest the whole day tomorrow while I'll help you out with your assignments!" she smiled, trying to find hope in his dire situation.

He let out an incredibly long sigh and leaned on the back cushion. He then turned his head to smile slightly at her - it was as if he had felt sweet release from torture. "…You're really not gonna give up, are you? Alright then," he stood up and brought out all the papers from his bag. He smirked at her once he saw her widen her eyes at how thick those papers were. "Think you can handle this?"

She puffed her cheeks out and brought her face close to his, standing on her toes. "Bring it! I won't back down from a challenge!"

"The reference material's there by the way." He thumbed his chin on the papers that she brought out initially. "You're gonna need it."

"Yeah yeah, I'll figure it out." She pushed Hajime to his bed and tucked him in. "Just sleep, ok? I'll get this done before you even wake up!"

"Sure you are…" he chuckled before he reached over towards the bedside lamp and turned it off. "…Goodnight, Nanami."

"Goodnight, Hinata-kun."

She carried the papers and placed it on his desk. She cracked her fingers, popped some bones and blew through her mouth to pump herself up.

"Time to get to work…for Hinata-kun!"

* * *

The next day, Hajime woke up, feeling more rejuvenated than he ever was these past couple of days. That was the best sleep he ever had and he felt ready to tackle all those assignments and finish them so he can focus on those exams.

He kicked the covers off of him and proceeded to do some morning exercises. After doing all that, he rushed over towards his desk and found a very cute lump of flesh resting at his chair with the papers strewn all over the desk. Ah, who was he kidding? That lump of flesh was Chiaki. He already knew that she was going to fall asleep because of doing something so mundane, like looking over at one paper then checking then looking again then checking until you know it's the right one, repeatedly over the night.

Still, he couldn't help but smile at her willingness and insistence to help him. She went through all this trouble, even disguising as a Reserve Course student, to come for him and ease his burden, so there's no way he's not going to let that go without any merit or reward.

He carried her over to his messy bed and tucked her in. She settled in pretty quickly and was now happily snoring, visibly relishing in whatever dream game she was playing right now. He made sure to turn off the alarm clock so she can sleep for how long she liked. He knew she was the type who hated alarm clocks, as they shared the same hatred for them. However, he trained himself to wake up without the need of such things but not her. She'd sleep for a week if no one, or nothing, woke her up. Well, that responsibility fell on him now.

Breakfast can wait, so he busied himself by checking on her progress for his ungodly amount of assignments. He skimmed through the papers and found out that her handwriting was…less than ideal. It looked so elementary, like a child doodling on the blank spaces. Even so, these answers were actually correct after looking them over in the reference material- for the most part, that is. Even at his tired state last night, he could have gotten through this with no mistakes at all due to how thorough he was, but that would be in hindsight. As she had said to him, he can't do anything with a low stamina bar so he can't really blame her for anything nor does he have a say in this.

He chuckled to himself before grabbing the pen and got busy correcting the mistakes and finishing what they started…together. He didn't need to take on this solo. He had a good friend he can rely on if things got too rough. And thanks to her help, he got that thick wad of assignments done in just an hour, completely confident that there was nothing wrong in there.

His mind drifted back to what she said to him yesterday. He couldn't imagine how sad she must have felt after being stood up for nearly two weeks. All it took was for him to just visit her once and tell her that he was busy. Work just really gets into his mind easily that he forgets about the smallest yet most important things, like playing games with his friend.

He looked back at her sleeping form and made a silent vow. He promises to spend the rest of today playing video games with Chiaki...that is, if she still wants to...

...Gah, let's face it. She'll never decline that offer.

So for now, he decides to take initiative and make breakfast for both himself and his sleeping guest.


	3. Just Having a Bad Day

Day 6: Recovery

Chapter Summary: When simple stomachaches turn to something more serious…

Chiaki and Hajime both hate surgeries, but it needed to be done, you know?

* * *

A/N: I'll spare you the details from the surgery itself and only tell you what happened before and after the operation. I'm not that squeamish when it comes to these things but this in particular is just…eugh!

_*proceeds to vomit*_

…I know what it feels like to have *something* nasty inside your stomach that's eating away at your life, slowly…until you collapse from poor health (Gee, thanks Nagito, you piece of s#*!). Eating healthy food managed to kill that thing inside me but I don't think I could have handled being operated on just to remove that demon spawn.

O-Oh no… I-I'm having flashbacks again…

I'll just stop it right here and give you the story…!

* * *

It was bound to happen, wasn't it?

With how she was taking care of herself, she was bound to land someday on a hospital bed. Despite his infinite warnings about her unhealthy lifestyle, she never listened, and now look where that got her. She's perpetually mad about not being able to play video games for being subjected to bed rest. Apparently, she doesn't understand that you can't play video games when there's a needle in your vein.

She said that the sickness will go away eventually since she thinks that it's a status effect that wouldn't last a long time. For goodness sake, she even treated the worm in her stomach as a virtual pet! What the heck?!

That's when Hajime and her old classmates decided to drag her to the clinic and keep her there until that worm is removed. Luckily, the group was quick enough to stop it from reproducing inside her, hence the needle in her arm. She was slightly scared of shots but what she truly feared was the surgery. Even with Mikan's many reassurances that she won't feel a thing, Chiaki played a lot of surgery games and she felt squeamish when she thought about those botched operations happening on her body.

"I trust you Tsumiki-san but..." she winced when the anesthetic was discreetly injected into her. Her fearful expression and soft tone then turned cold, blank and lethargic. "...I don't trust the others..."

"It'll be fine, Nanami." said Hajime even though he knew that the medicine was now numbing her senses to the point where she won't even know who's around her anymore. She can't even smile. She slowly closed her eyes and laid still like a corpse.

Hajime was then escorted outside the room so that the surgeons can get to work. He sat down on one of the chairs in the lobby and slowly rubbed his head exasperatedly. They were lucky that they made friends with the Ultimate Nurse. She was kind enough to admit Chiaki to the hospital she worked in and would make some "arrangements" to the designated surgeon to lessen the cost. Even though that was as far as she could get to avoid suspicions, he was thankful that he wouldn't need to withdraw from his savings to pay the fees.

Time ticked by and before he knew it, the others informed him that the operation was successful and Chiaki was now sleeping in one of the hospital rooms - very very far away from that dreaded operation room. Just before he could get there, Fuyuhiko tapped him in the shoulder and dragged him towards the corner near the end of the hallway. He crossed his arms and leaned by the door towards her room.

"…We already talked with the others about this. I'll take care of the fees so you can rest your ass easy tonight." he scoffed and looked to his side. "Take it as thanks for taking care of Nanami, Hinata."

He was surprised. He clearly underestimated Chiaki's influence over her old classmates during their years at Hope's Peak. He never thought that even the heir to one of the largest crime syndicates would volunteer to pay for the fees, let alone thank him for doing something so normal. "You're welcome, Kuzuryu." he sighed before continuing. "Though I take it you're expecting something in return, right?"

"Did you not just hear what I told you, dumbass?!" he turned his head and glared at Hajime. "I said it's for being a good boyfriend to her! Fucking hell… Just cause I'm a yakuza doesn't mean that I'm fucking selfish! If the price was bigger, that's when I would've drawn the line. I have standards, bastard!"

"Okay okay! Sorry!" Hajime raised his hands after receiving Fuyuhiko's memorable tirades. "…So, it's ok to come in now right?"

The yakuza bounced off the wall and mouthed off, "Be my damn guest."

Entering the room, he was greeted by a thick dark veil with the sound of soft gentle snoring in the background, somehow going in sync with the quiet droning of the air conditioner. Hajime reached out for the light switch, lighting up the room in an incredibly bright light. The snoring was then replaced with an annoyed moan.

"…Turn off the light…" she muttered in a tired voice, trying to cover her eyes with her unperforated arm. "…It's too bright…"

Before switching off the light he went over to Chiaki's bedside and turned on the lamp instead. It was significantly less brighter than that white solar flare of a bulb. After turning off the light switch for that, the room was now in a warm comfortable lighting.

"…It's still too bright…" she complained and ruffled around the covers of the bed with an uneasy energy guiding her sluggish twisting and turning.

He turned the knob under the lamp shade to its darkest settings. "There. Better?"

She hummed in satisfaction and went back to sleep.

He dragged a stool nearby and sat beside her bed. He took a deep breath and sternly said, "We need to talk, Nanami."

"I'm not in the mood right now, Hinata-kun…"

He sighed in frustration. "…Can't you listen to me just this once? We NEED to talk."

She grumbled something to herself before finally lending an ear to Hajime. "…Please make it quick… I'm really tired right now…"

"It's just one question anyways. So, have you finally learned your lesson?"

"…Really, Hinata-kun?" He could hear the saltiness in her tired tone. "Are you going to rub that in my face right now?"

"Just answer the question. It should be obvious since you hate hospitals."

"Ok…fine…" she shifted around on her bed once more, pouting at Hajime but too weak to glare and puff her cheeks out. "…you win this time…"

He held himself back from reprimanding her more about how this isn't a game. She's been through a lot and he wasn't that big of an asshole, especially to his girlfriend. Instead, he scooted closer towards her head, brushed off some of the hair covering her temple, and kissed it. "…Get well soon, Chiaki. Love you always."

Fortunately for him, the lighting in the room was sufficient for him to see the slight red coloring her deathly pale face and strained smile she gave when they met each other's gazes. "Thank you, Hajime… I love you too…"

He breathed in relief and switched off the lamp before leaving for the night. Just as he got to his car, he slumped at the driver's seat in realization that he was going to sleep alone tonight. That meant that every morning for the next several days, he won't be greeted by the lovely sight of his girlfriend beside him, which was just as good as a cup of coffee every morning. Letting out another sigh, he drove in the key to the ignition, tuned in to his favorite radio station, and started heading home.

Well, he can shave a few hours off his sleep just to visit her every night after work.

* * *

A/N: Heh, let me guess. When you guys saw this prompt, you were expecting to see Hajime recovering from the Kamukura Project, weren't you?

Upupupu… if it's despair you want, **_then I shall provide_**.


	4. Nothing is Still Something…

Day 7: Cuddling/Lazy Day

Chapter Summary: There are some days when you feel like you can take on the whole world.

Then there are some days when you feel like you had enough of the whole world and just want to rest and soliloquize your reminiscences.

* * *

A/N: This is the _despair_ I promised you all!

* * *

Bright yellow streaks burned through the window blinds and into Hajime's eyelids, making him regret his decision to place the futon in a horrible spot as he shifted his arm for it to be roasted instead of his face. This movement now stirred the drowsiness out of him - the day must have told him to get up and smell the fresh tropical air outside. However, the weight of his thoughts and human wants proved to be too much for the former Ultimate Hope to handle - well, that and the tangles upon tangles of black silicone rubber wires and a soft fluffy heaviness binding him to the mocha, silky quilted mattress. The future constantly beckoned him to rise and be productive for the foundation dedicated to leading the world towards it, but Hajime chose to deviate and remain bound to this crumpled mess, to which he deemed paradise.

Fate tended to be so irrational that his analytical talents could not determine what it wants to do with him. Perhaps, trying to do so requires him to be an irrational person, so he gave up trying to simplify this complexity and decided to simply "go with the flow" of this stagnant river.

But this heat needs to be extinguished. Untangling himself from the clingy vine-like wires, he freed himself out of that mess only to be slammed back to the soft mat by a surprisingly powerful pull.

"…Mmmm…stay…"

Ah…

There was one more *inconvenience* to deal with it, and he frowned at the realization that he had to sneak himself out of her slowly creeping arms to close the blinds. His many talents should make this easy-

"…Ngghh…you move too much…" her face scrunched up; very frustrated and the patterns of her soft facial muscles shifted to an expression he can't quite describe - for the most deceptive and momentous millionth upon the million microseconds of a second, the deep recesses of his brain caught and latched on to a tell before it slipped back into dark matter. "…Keep still…so I can catch you…"

His companion shifted amongst the messy mesh of wires and blankets to shift all her weight unto his body, wrapping him into a ball with her arms and legs all while attaching herself to him for some unfathomable reason. His arms were now completely paralyzed and so was his…well…every limb that he required to get up. This less than ideal situation made him think that he was being rendered immobile by industrial kelp, drowning in this sea of quilt, fluffiness and wires. Not only that, but their faces were extremely closer than he preferred. He could feel and taste every breath that she exhaled; any centimeter closer and he would have to lock lips with this sleepy gamer.

Curses…! If Chiaki only knew that he was the reason she wasn't being assaulted by that infernal tropical sun outside, then she wouldn't be acting this way. Why now while it's so unbearably hot did she want to cuddle with him?! Still…he couldn't help but read whatever thoughts ran in her mind as she murmured his name clearer and louder than the nigh silent incoherences that escaped her lips.

Her reasons should have been clear from the beginning.

The fear of waking up alone…

The fear of waking up and suddenly thinking that every happy moment, every cherished memory, every dear memento held close to your heart was all just a conjured fantasy to trick you…

The fear of every single thing you considered real transforming into fiction…

The fear of a single lie breaking you down…leaving you like a broken doll, tossed, forgotten…

The fear…_**of nearly losing the one you loved with all your heart**_…

That fear…was enough to drive her to that _sickening_ sensation they all experienced once…

Heartbreak…

Denial…

Grief…

Nihil…

_**Despair**_…

She was afraid…wasn't she…?

He won't leave her, then. He'll take the sun's rays and stay with Chiaki, holding her close and kissing her forehead, like a parent caring for their infant. While he was around, he'll make sure that she'll no longer feel Death's hand crushing her soul and spirit - betrayed, broken and sad.

He'll be her hope - her Ultimate Hope, if it comes to that.

That nothing that should have been beside her will now become something…

…Something to remind her that he, she, and everyone else…is real, breathing, _alive_.

A thick raincloud floated by. It soon covered the bright blue sky above with a dark overcast, threatening everyone who was outside with rain. Not long after, the pitter-patter struck the glass and the roof of their shared cottage and quickened its lulling rhythm to the sound of Jabberwock Island being showered by heavy rain. Going outside didn't look like a great idea anymore but the room was starting to get cold. He felt his companion shiver slightly and tighten her embrace on his body for warmth. With his free hand, he grabbed the discarded covers and wrapped themselves under its fuzzy warmth as they resumed to huddle closer for more heat.

His fingers mindlessly caressed her cheek and slid all the way to her back. Unprompted, he began to slowly and gently massage her back. She still snored and drooled, indicating that she broke all connections to the outside world to focus on her dream world. However, he could still hear her murmur his name and feel her body warm up. Her chest heaved in sync with her steady heartbeat at rest and her breathing tingled with his skin and hummed a soothing melody to his ears. Everything she did appealed to all his senses.

A rare smile drove his apathetic expression away and stayed there as her soft breathing and the tapping of raindrops lulled him back to that hazy imaginary world once his eyelids had fully closed. The mist and melodies of their breaths mixed together and entranced the whole cottage with a sleepy atmosphere that fitted the rainy lazy day.

* * *

A/N: So…did you feel it? Did you feel the despair from having your hopes up for some Ultimate Angst? If so, then I have accomplished my mission!

If not…well…

…Continue reading.

This particular entry was inspired by Dispel in Expansion Pack by @The_Apocryphal_One . I really liked their interpretation of Chiaki's nightmares in that chapter. I won't delve too much into its details for reasons I won't specify, but if you are interested in Chiaki's character like me and most of my readers, I suggest that you read Extra Life then Expansion Pack, both are by the same author, if you haven't already.

Had I not read those two, I wouldn't be here writing Danganronpa fics. This game's series is, without a doubt, one of the best visual novel series out there. It targets the reader's expectations to see their favorite character live or be in a romantic relationship with the protagonist, and it kills them off with fantastic and heart-crushing delivery. I don't think I need to specify which death affected me the most. It should be obvious by now.

Anyways, I really regret coming into this fandom when it has already reached its peak, especially for the second game. I would have loved to experience this thrill ride with a lot more people and partake in some discussions about the game but because of my crappy intuition for finding gems, it held me back.

It really bummed out. I don't think I'll have the same amount of motivation to post these other ideas I have in my mind.

…Hell, there might even come a time where I just drift away from this fandom and be forgotten forever…

…So, about this last entry, I'm thinking of taking a stab at exploring this AU, or just any other AU where Chiaki lives, but I have to admit, I think I'm oversaturating myself with Hinanami, haha. I have its first chapter already done and its sitting there, just waiting to be revealed. I just want to post it at the right time, where I'm driven enough to make it a full series, like how I intended for it to be.

For now, I'll just fly away into my dragon den and continue lurking. Hahahaha…

_*sigh*_


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